Fanos Hira has retired as chair of Worcestershire and stepped down from the board after nine years at the county.

Hira's involvement at New Road initially began as part of a subgroup of the board in 2014, and the main board in 2016 before becoming chair in 2018. Having replaced Stephen Taylor in the role after Worcestershire secured the T20 Blast title, he oversaw further on-field success as the club finished runners-up in the same competition in 2019 before earning promotion back to Division One last season. Hira was also an observer on the ECB board.

As a qualified accountant, Hira used his expertise to produce a comprehensive report on the ECB's finances, finding projections made in Deloitte's assessment of the Hundred back in 2016 optimistic. The report, compiled with the help of new ECB chair Richard Thompson, claimed the competition, which began in 2021, had made a loss of 9million in its first two years.

Hira has also advocated for transfer fees being introduced in county cricket to remunerate clubs that nurture and produce talent only to have them picked off by bigger teams. This summer alone, Worcestershire lost Dillon Pennington, Jack Haynes and Josh Tongue - all products of their academy - to Nottinghamshire.

The 55-year-old leaves with the county in better financial shape, with Ashley Giles in place as chief executive since June - a position that had been vacant since 2019 - to continue overseeing cricket matters. Hira is due to be awarded Honorary Life Membership at Worcestershire, subject to ratification at the next AGM. The club will undertake an open process to appoint a new chair.

"It's been an honour to be involved so closely with Worcestershire over such a long period," Hira said in a statement. "I am grateful to all staff, coaches, and players for their tireless efforts.

"There have been many highlights for me, but this season, it has been particularly pleasing to see the immediate progress in white-ball and red-ball cricket under the leadership of the club's coaching and management team.

"I wish everyone associated with Worcestershire all the very best for the future, and I look forward to watching the team continue to entertain and compete in the coming years."

Paul Pridgeon, vice chair of Worcestershire, said: "His efforts and commitment, as a volunteer, have been tireless over the years. Fanos has guided the club through very tough times, including substantial governance reform, the challenging Covid years, and the recent cost-of-living crisis, and his impact on the club cannot be underestimated."